Development of Plant-Based Medicines: Conservation, Efficacy and Safety
Development of Plant-Based Medicines: Conservation, Efficacy and Safety Edited by Praveen K. Saxena Department of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada SPRINGER-SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, B.Y.
Library ofcongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Development ofplant-based medicines : conservation, efficacy, and safety / edited by Praveen K. Saxena. p.;cm. Includes index. ISBN 978-90-481-5675-7 ISBN 978-94-015-9779-1 (ebook) DOI 10.1007/978-94-015-9779-1 l. Materia medica, Vegetable. 2. Medicinal plants. 3. Pharmacognosy. 1. Saxena, PraveenK. [DNLM: l. Plants, Medicinal. 2. Alternative Medicine. QV 766 D489 2001] RS 1.64.D4438 2001 615'.32--dc21 2001029158 ISBN 978-90-481-5675-7 Printed an acid-free paper AII Rights Reserved 2001 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 2001 Softcover reprint ofthe hardcover Ist edition 2001 No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced Of utilized in any form Of by any means, electronic Of mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any infofmation stofage and retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner.
Contents Contributors Acknowledgements Preface vii xi xiii Conservation, Trade, Sustainability and Exploitation of Medicinal Plant Species DANNA J. LEAMAN An Overview of Recent Developents in Bioprospecting and Pharmaceutical Development 17 WILL MCCLATCHEY AND JODI STEVENS Ancient-Modern Concordance in Ayurvedic Plants: Some Examples 47 SUKHDEV Medicinal Plants of Egypt 69 MOHAMMED EL-DEMERDASH Development of Plants in Central America 95 ROSAURA M. ROMERO The Unique Challenges of Plant-Based Medicines 107 SUSAN 1. MURCH, KRISTEN L. CHOFFE AND PRA VEEN K. SAXENA
vi Contents In Vitro Approaches to the Conservation and Development of Medicinal Plant Species 119 SKYES.B. CAMPBELL, SUSANJ. MURCHANDPRAVEENK. SAXENA Large-Scale Production of Medicinal Plant Species: The Application of Bioreactors for Production of Ginseng Roots 139 SUNG Ho SON AND KEE YOEUP PAEK Development of New Technologies for Medicinal Plant Species - Panax ginseng and Huperzia serrata: Cryopreservation and Analysis of Secondary Metabolites 151 W.L. TENG Somatic Cell Fusion: Relevance to Medicinal Plants SUSAN J. MURCH AND PRA VEEN K. SAXENA Plant-Derived Antibodies: The Medicines of Tomorrow CLAUDIA SHEEDY AND J. CHRlSTOPHER HALL Latex Biochemistry of Certain Euphorbiaceous Taxa: Medicinal Importance K. SESHAGIRlRAOANDM.N.V. PRASAD 167 183 199 Evaluation of Plant Extracts in Mammalian Systems: Applications of the Big Blue Rodent Mutational Assay 211 JOHAN G. DE BOER The Importance of Clinical Research for Plant-Derived Medicines 233 TIMOTHY GORSKI Index 263
Contributors Editor P.K. Saxena Department of Plant Agriculture University of Guelph Guelph, Ontario, Canada, NIG 2Wl Contributors J.G. de Boer Center for Environmental Health PO Box 3020 STN CSC University of Victoria Victoria, Be. Canada, V8W 3N5 S.S.B. Campbell Department of Plant Agriculture University of Guelph Guelph, Ontario, Canada, NIG 2Wl K.L. Choffe Department of Plant Agriculture University of Guelph Guelph, Ontario, Canada, NIG 2Wl Vll
viii Conservation, Trade, Sustainability and Exploitation of Medicinal Plant Species S.Dev University of Delhi, B.R.S. Centre for Biomedical Research Delhi 110 007, India M.A. El-Demerdash Botany Department Mansoura University New Damietta, Egypt Tim Gorski, M.D. Arlington, Texas USA,76012 J. C. Hall Department of Environmental Biology University Of Guelph Guelph, Ontario, Canada NIG2Wl Danna J. Leaman Medicinal Plant Specialist Group The W orid Conservation Union, Species Survival Commission % Canadian Museum of Nature PO Box. 3443 Stn. D. Ottawa, Canada, KIP 6P4 W. McClatchey Department of Botany University of Hawaii 502 St. John, Plant Science Laboratory Honolulu, HI 96822-279 SJ. Murch Department of Plant Agriculture University of Guelph Guelph, Ontario, Canada, NIG 2Wl
Conservation, Trade, Sustainability and Exploitation of Medicinal Plant Species IX K.Y. Paek Research Center for the Development of Advanced Horticultural Technology Chungbuk National University Cheongju, Chungbuk, 361-763, Republic of Korea M.N.V. Prasad Department of Plant Sciences University of Hyderabad Hyderabad, India 500046 R. Romero Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INBio) Apoto. 22-3100, Santo Domingo, Heredia Costa Rica S.H. Son Research Center for the Development of Advanced Horticultural Technology Chungbuk National University Cheongju, Chungbuk, 361-763, Republic of Korea C. Sheedy Department of Environmental Biology University of Guelph Guelph, Ontario, Canada, NIG 2Wl J. Stevens Department of Botany University of Hawaii 502 St. John, Plant Science Laboratory Honolulu, HI 96822-279 W-LTeng Plant Biotechnology Unit Hong Kong Institute of Biotechnology
x Conservation, Trade, Sustainability and Exploitation of Medicinal Plant Species 2 Biotechnology Ave 12 Miles, Tai Po Road Shatin, N.T. Hong Kong
Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge the help of each of my contributors who have provided their valuable contributions and time. I could not have completed the task of compiling this book without the inspiration and assistance of my Post-Doctoral Fellow, Dr Susan Murch. I would like thank my students and staff, Kristen Choffe, Mark Garnett, and Tannis Slimmon for their help with the numerous details. Finally, I would like to thank my family for their help, patience and understanding. I feel very fortunate to dedicate this effort to Sarla and Anand Saxena, my parents, who inspired me to have faith in God, always. xi
Preface The "plant" is often the most neglected part of plant-based medicine. Throughout time, humans have searched, collected, and effectively used plants for healing the ailments of body, spirit, and the mind. Today millions of people around the world consume plant-based medicines for a range of medical disorders and the global market for medicinal plants is in billions of dollars annually. Ironically, even in this age of scientific and technological advances, the mystery of what transforms a plant into a medicinal plant continues while consumers are embracing plant-based medicine to combat chronic diseases for which modem medicine has failed to provide an effective remedy or as preventative measures to stimulate body's own immune system. Not surprisingly, the medicinal plant based business is flourishing at a dramatic pace and at the expense of already declining population of plant species, many of which are at the verge of extinction. Despite their immense popularity, plant-based medicines face a serious scepticism. Their usefulness or even safety is questioned for lack of scientific evidence of medicinal efficacy. Our inability to understand how medicinal plants work should not be interpreted as ineffectiveness of the medicine. The history of medicinal plants spans many thousands of years. The evolutionary process of genetic and environmental adaptations over this time has altered and contributed to the spectrum of bioactive molecules in the species. This book is a collection of the thoughts of a select group of researchers who strongly believe in preservation of medicinal biodiversity and share the vision that research and development in this discipline will enhance and improve human health. Medicinal plants represent a unique opportunity for interdisciplinary xiii
xiv Conservation, Trade, Sustainability and Exploitation of Medicinal Plant Species research and a better understanding of their structure and function, and interactive synergy of bioactive molecules in response to their natural habitat will lead to the development of effective treatments for human ailments. It is my belief that the conservation and sustainable use of medicinal biodiversity coupled with efforts to enrich cultures where plant based medicine found its origin will make a remarkable difference in the lifestyles of people for whom growing medicinal plants is a way of life.